The present invention is drawn to a device for thermally treating scrap using a charging facility for conveying scrap to a furnace chamber. The charging facility is fitted with a waste gas flue and a loading port, and is further provided with a loading space in which the scrap is pre-heated.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,099 describes a device in which a charge of scrap is stored for pre-heating in the pre-loading space of a container and hot gases are passed through the scrap. The gases are produced by gas or oil burners, with respect to the general use of energy, represents an extremely uneconomical method of heating gases as the large amount of air which must be heated later escapes with a considerable quantity of heat loss.
It is also known to heat moveable scrap containers in special heating units and then to transport these containers to a melting furnace where the pre-heated scrap is charged to the furnace chamber. In this case the activities and facilities required involve considerable expense. In view of the foregoing it is the principal object of the present invention to develop a device for pre-heating scrap which is easy to operate and can be run with relatively little energy loss.